Loading machine



E. B. ROYLE LOADING MACHINE Oct. 25, 1938.

Filed, May 28, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet l Ennentor M attorney Oct. 25, 1938. E. B. ROYLE LOADING MACHINE Filed May 28, 1957 5 Sheets-Sher. 2

24 Mange 3nventor (Ittomeg E. B. ROYLE LOADING MACHINE Uct. 25, 1938.

Filed May 28, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 (Ittorneg Patented Qci.25, 1938 UNITED ,STATES IlOADING M'Acnnn:

Edwin B. Boyle, Salt Lake City, Utah, assignor to The Eimco Corporation, Salt Lake City, Utah Application May 28, 1937, Serial No. 145,291

6 Claims. (Cl. 214-432) My present invention relates to improvements in loading machines or muckers oi the type employing a vertically swinging shovel, which is also oscillatable horizontally on a vertical axis 5 in order that digging or loading operations of the shovel may be accomplished laterally of the machine. The invention is particularly related to the means for centering the loaded shovel or dipper, after alateral digging operation, in order 10 that the shovel may be alined with a car when the loaded shovel isin dumping position. The subject matter of the present invention is an 'improvement on the appliances illustrated in patents oi Finlay et a1. Nos. 1,906,000 and 1,906,001

15 of April 25, 1933.

The invention is preferably embodied in a selfcontained loading machine mounted upon a wheeled-truck or carriage; the vertically swinging shovel and a rolling support therefor are mounted upon a pivoted superstructure that is capable of being oscillated or swung horizontally on a vertical axis to bring the shovel to either side of a railway track; and co-acting means on the horizontally oscillatable superstructure and the carriage are employed to center the laterally disposed shovel. The loading machine is especially adapted for use in mines where a large proportion of the material to be handled or loaded lies at the opposite sides of the railway track. Because of the compact arrangement of parts and of the minimum size of the machine in which the invention is embodied, the empty shovel-may with facility be swung by hand to either side of the track or railway for filling or digging opera- 7 tions, and then the loaded shovel may readily be swung back into alinement with the wheeled truck and automatically centered with relation to the truck by the use of power operated means in connection with the vertically swinging movement or the filled or loaded shovel. The selfcontained loading machine is equipped with a suitable motor for propulsion, and also for operating its various parts, and the overhead-swinging shovel is designed to dump its load into a car coupled directly at the rear of the machine- By the utilization of the centering means or my invention in the loading machine the dipper or shovel may be manipulated for digging, in a lat- 50 eral position, before the centering movement occurs, then, after the shovel is filled the superstructure and shovel are automatically centered with relation to the carriage during the travel f. oi the loaded shovel from a loaded position to 55 dumping position, and means are provided for propelled through rigging not shown but enholding these parts in alinement while'the load is being discharged from the shovel.

The parts of the machine, including the centering means, are compactly arranged togoccupym;

a minimum of space and to protect them iri'mi wear and breakage; the construction of parts is simplified to insure durability, and the operations of the machine are accomplished with'facility and reliability.

The invention consists in certain novel com- 10 binations and arrangements of parts as will hereinafter be more fully pointed out and claimed; In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one complete example of the physical embodiment of my invention wherein the parts are combined and arranged according to one mode I have devised for the practical application of the principles of my invention.

Figure l is a view in side elevation, with parts broken away for convenience of illustration, of I a loading machine embodying my invention, with the shovel and its rocker arms in loading position, and disclosing a motor and parts operated thereby.

Figure 2 is an enlarged, detail, vertical, transverse sectional view through the housing and showing the rotary cam-drum of the centering means. I

Figure 3 is a view inside elevation showing the, loading machine and part of a mine car on the railway track, with the rocker arms and shovel in loading position; and in dotted lines the rocker arms and shovel are shown in successive positions; and the accompanying movements of the centering means are also shown by dotted lines.

Figure 4 is a transverse view, partly broken away, showing the relation of the rotary camdrum to the friction-roller or cam roller having a stationary support on the wheeled truck or carriage of the machine. 40

Figure 5 is a plan view showing the superstructure, rocker arms and shovel swung to a left-hand position with relation to the carriage and railway, and by dotted lines indicating these parts swung to the right-hand side of the railway. i

In order that the general arrangement and.

utility of the various parts may readily be understood I have shown in Figure 3 a portion of a mine-car M coupled at the rear of the machine,

which machine includes a truck I with wheels 2 rolling on the rails 3, and the machine is selia closed within the truck I. The rigid bed-plate 4 forming the deck 01 the truck and provided-B5 with rounded ends is equipped with a center pin '5, dotted lines 'in Figure 5, and an oscillatable" superstructure is pivoted on this vertical axis to swing horizontally. The superstructure includes a table or horizontal base plate with lllldpllD- right side walls 1 and I, and in Figure 5, by dotted lines, a circular track for ball bearings is indicated at 9 between the wheeled truck and the.

superstructure, to support the latter. g

In Figure 1 where the shovel is shown in loading position, it'will be seen that the shovel or dipper is rigidly attached to and supported upon arms is indlcatedin Figure 3, as the successive positions of the shovel and arms are indicated from loadingpositon to dumping position or vice versa.

l By means of the rocker arms the shovel is swung upwardly and rearwardly from loaded po-,

sition to dumping position, and to stop the shov'el at the end of its dumping movement I provide bumper springs I4, l4 mounted upona cross bar l5 attached at its ends to the two side walls I and 8, and the rocker arms have laterally extending masses I and rocker arms, under power from the motor.

For this purpose a centering roller 23 is iour- -naled upon a stationary or fixed bearing or axis because of the restricted width stopplates IS in position to contact with the] springs at the end of the travel of the shovel. By impact of the plates with the springs the swinging movement of the shovel is stopped, and by inertia. the load is projected and dumped into the car M.

Forswinging the arms and the shovel I employ a reversible air motor I1 mounted on the superstructure, which drives a rotary drum l3, and a chain i9 mounted upon the drum has'its outer end anchored to a cross bar 20 which rigidly joins the rocker arms II and I2. To insure the necessary leverage, the chain passes over a guide .pulley 2| journaled in the upper end of a bracket 22 mounted on the superstructure between'the I .winding drum l3 and the rocker arms.

In Figure 1 connections are shown at 23 and 24 from the air motor II, which are extended to propulsion mechanism for the wheeled truck, and it will be understood that the machine is propelled to project the shovel as far as possible into -a muck pile, and then, if the motor I! is operated and controlled to actuate the shovel (through the winding drum and chain) the rocker arms impart successive digging movements to the shovel, until it is filled, and the shovel is then emptied as above described.

. Power from'the motor IT having been cut oil just prior to stopping the swing of the shovel, the recoil of the springs l4 from the impact, initiates the forward swing of the shovel under action of gravity, and the shovel is thus returned to digging or loading position.

As above described, the shovel. is adapted to operate directly in front of the loading machine as in Figure 1, or at either side of the railway as in Figure 5. For lateral operations as in Figure 5, the shovel is swung by hand, out of alinement 24 at the longitudinal center of the wheeled truck, and preferably forward of the pivot I of the superstructure, and a rotary cam-drum 25 is mounted transversely of the superstructure, above the roller and for co-action therewith.

As best seen in Figure 2 the cam drum is a hollow, integral, metal cylinder, having its two heads 23, 23, truncated and arranged in planes disposed ori converging lines, thus shaping the drum to facilitate its installation in the enclosure formedby the housing 21 and its cap or end plate 23. The housing, which is mounted on the top of the plate 6 of the superstructure, extends transversely thereof and is limited as to its length of the machine, and this specific shape of the cam-drum insures a maximum length to' the drum to accommodate the required cams and aiford a wide bearing face for the cams, which are indicated as 29 and 30. These peripheral cam edges are formed by providing an opening in the cylindrical wall of the drum, from end to end, and the cam edges curve toward the longitudinal center of the drum, and merge into spaced parallel annular walls 3|, 3| which terminate in a notch or recess 32 at the center of the drum and of slightly larger dimensions than the cam roller 23 mounted on the wheeled truck. As best seen in Figure 4 the two cam edges 29 and 30, at their outer ends terminate in parallel annular walls 33 and 34, and these annular edges or walls oi. the opening in the drum terminate at the longitudinally extending wall 35 of the cam opening.

The opposite ends of the cam-drum are fashioned with centrally alined bearing bosses 38 and 31, extending both inwardly and outwardly of the drum-heads, and one end of the drum is provided with a trunnion 38, journaled in a hearing seat as of the removable cap plate 20. The other end of the drum is fixed on a stud shaft 40 that is journaled in a bearing 4| of the housing, and the inner end of this stud shaft, which passes through the boss 31, is threaded to receive a retaining nut 42, which holds the drum rigid with the shaft.

The shaft may be rocked in its bearings and the cam drum may be oscillated, or partially turned on its trunnions and longitudinal axis in either direction by movement imparted thereto from one of the rocker arms to a lever 43 which is rigid with the stud shaft, through a link 44 that is pivoted at 45 to the lever and at 46 to the rocker arm.

As seen in Figure 5, and because of the annular edges 33 and 34 of the cam drum, it will be apparent that while the shovel is turned to a lateral position, the shovel may be lifted, as in filling or loading strokes, without operating the centering means, for the reason that one of these parallel edges 33 or 34 will glide past the roller 23 without a cam-action.

After the shovel has been filled or loaded, and after its initial lifting movement, oneof the cam edges 29 or 30, by its contact with the cam roller, starts to swing the super-structure with the travel or upwardly and rearwardly swing of the shovel, and the superstructure and shovel are centered just before the shovel, is dumped. As the cam drum revolves and the parallel walls 3 I, 3| contact with the cam roller, this contact stops the lateral swing of the superstructure, and the thus centered and retained superstructure and shovel are in position for the shovel to dump its contents into the mine car M.

Due to the recoil of springs M, the gravityreturn movement of the rocker arms and shovel is initiated, and the shovel returns to digging position alined with the carriage or truck, free from the influence of the centering devices, and in this position the shovel may be operated, and the rotary cam-drum may revolve or partially revolve without operation of the centering means.

If, however, the shovel is to work in a lateral position, it may be swung laterally, by hand, after the recessed portion 3i-32 of the cam drum has rolled out of engagement with the cam-roller and while the shovel is being returned to digging position.

The co-operation of the link and lever connection between the rocker arm and the centering drum is illustrated by the several positions of these parts in Figure 3, and it will be understood that the swinging movement of the rocker arm partially revolves the drum in one direction as it moves from loaded to dumping position, and then partially revolves the drum in the opposite dizjection as it swings from dumping to filling posi- The linkage employed in driving or revolving the centering drum 2!, it will be seen, is arranged so that the link 44 and lever 43 are related to the rocker arms in such manner as to allow the rocker and shovel assembly to be raised from filling or down position of Figure 3 to the dotted loaded position before initial movement of the drum, and therefore without causing any appreciable rotation or action of the drum against its centering roller. Under these conditions, and in some instances, the parallel annular guide walls 33 and 34 of the drum are not called on to .perform their functions. i With the shovel engaged in lateral dig ing operations, as the shovel and rocker assembly are moved from (dotted) loaded position to the centered position, link swings lever 3 through the distance of the arc B, thereby causing the centering drum to revolve or rotate with one of its cam edges (29 or 30) frictionally engaged with roller 28, and by the co-action of this cam edge and the roller the superstructure is moved into alinement with the under carriage. Continued a rocking movement of the arms and overhead swing a Patentis;

1. In a loading machine, the combination with a support, a horizontally oscillatable superstructure, a vertically swinging shovel mounted on the superstructure, and means for swinging the shovel, of a central cam member mounted on the support, a rotary drum mounted transversely of the superstructure having a cam-edge, and power transmitting means between the shovel swinging means and said rotary drum.

2. In a loading machine, the combination with a carriage, a horizontally oscillatable superstruc- 4 ture mounted on the carriage, a central cammember mounted on the carriage, a vertically swinging shovel mounted on the superstructure, and means for swinging the shovel, of a rotary cam-device mounted transversely of the superstructure for co-action with said cam-member, and power transmitting means between the shovel swinging means and said rotary drum.

3. In a loading machine, the combination with a. carriage having a central cam member, a horizontally oscillatable superstructure mounted on the carriage, a vertically swinging shovel mounted on the superstructure, and means for swinging the shovel, of a rotary cam-device mounted on the superstructure for co-action with the cammember to center the superstructure, power transmitting means between the shovel swinging means and said rotary drum, and means for holding the superstructure in centered positidn while the shovel is in dumping position.

4. In a loading machine, the combination with a carriage having a central cam-roller, a horizontally oscillatable superstructure mounted on the carriage, a. vertically swinging shovel mounted on the superstructure, and means for swinging the shovel, of a rotary drum mounted transversely on the superstructure and a cam-surface on said drum for co-action with the roller in centering the superstructure, and an annular surface on the drum for co-action with the roller to hold the superstructure centered while the shovel is in dumping position. l

5. In a loading machine, the combination with a carriage having a central cam roller, a horizontally oscillatable superstructure mounted on the carriage, a vertically swinging shovel mounted on the superstructure, and means for swinging the shovel, of a rotary drum mounted transversely of the superstructure and havinga rigid leverarm, a link connecting said arm with the shovel swinging means, said drum having a peripheral opening in its wall comprising a central recess with parallel edges, cam-edges diverging from said parallel edges and merging with spaced annular edges adjacent the ends of the drum, and a transversely extending edge Joining said annular edges.

6. In a loading machine, the combination with a carriage having a central cam-roller, a horizontally oscillatable superstructure mounted on the carriage and a housing on the superstructure,

a rotary drum having end-heads disposed in planes located on diverging lines, trunnions on said end-heads iournaled in the housing, cam devices on the drum for co-action with the camroiler, a vertically swinging shovel mounted on the superstructure and operating means therefor, and power transmitting means between said operating means and said drum.

EDWIN B. BOYLE. 

